Valve latch



H. E. ROSE VALVE LATCH April 2, 1929.

Filed March 29, 1927 Patented Apr. 2,1929; A r I i Y M D A-T cs HERBERT nosE, or WARWICK; RHODE' ISLAND; 'ASSIGNOR '10 GENERAL FIR Ex-J TINGUISHER COMPANY, or'rRovInENcE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION or DEL WARE. v

. VALVE LATCH.

Application fi1 ed-March 29,"1927.. Serial in. 179,363.

This invention relates to improvernents ally by a cam action to lessen ,thedanger'of in valve latches. More especially it relates breaking it or its pivotal support, while the to a latch for lockinga valve in a desired second applied force acts through leverage position, and whichis positively moved by to move the latchquickly intolocking 'posi-, the valve into locking engagement therewith jtion. c o' during the travel ot the valve toward its As'herein J disclosed the latch is a bell locked position. Such a latch is .particucrank lever pivoted within thecasing of a larly useful in'con nection'with a dry pipe dry pipe valve with one of its armsextendvalve-of an automatic sprinkler system and ing approximatelyhorizontally from its piv- 10 it is this application of the invention that is i ot directly, toward the swinging valve. The

herein particularlydescribed. v projecting end of thisarm has a hook with Dry pipe valves holdfa supply of water rounded surface which is positioned in'the under considerable pressure back from disk path of a cam hook on the adjacent face of tributing, pipes filledwithjair under a lower the"'valve. As the valve swings open its pressure. Upon the 'opening of an autocam. hook slides onthe rounded face o'fthe I matic sprinkler head the air pressure falls, lever arm and applies thereto a powerful and when the trip point reached the'highforce,lbut as does so gradually there, can water pressure throws thev'alve open and be no danger of breaking the latch as might the supply rushes into the distributing occur it the forcerwere applied suddenly. pipes. The valve then must be held e'pen In consequence, any tendency of the latch to to preventwater 'columning," a" condition stick is overcome by the hook and arm rid- 7o whichlresults when a valve that has opened ing uponfthe carnjhook of the valve, As forflowhas closedagain leaving olumn the latter passes, by" the hook of the bell.

of water above it whose weight is too great crank lever, it "encounters, the other or. dea 25 to be overcome by A the supply pressure; pending'a-rm on the other side of that levers Suchre-closing of the valve may be caused pivot, and accordingly swingsthe bellcrank either'by the rebound of water back toward rapidly in the reverse direction bringing its it from the air entrapped inthe pipes, or hookdown in front of the cam hook of the may result'froni any suddenfldrop in presyalve. [Thus the latch isforced'positively 30 sure in the supply line occasioned, for ex '1ntolock1ng'positionso that upon the re,- V ample, by connecting a fire engine to the boundotthevalve its own cam hook and s0 supply and the drawing of a considerable the hook pfthe latch will interlockand prequantity of water therefrorrn Accordingly vent closing of the valve. v I dry pipe valves whose closing by surge s 'x The invention is herein shown in its appossible, after having opened for sprinkler pl cation to a dry pipe valv b d i discharge, have beenfprovided with latches. difi'erential of leverageiand'of area, as set T he most common of these latches have defortlrin United States Letters Patent Nos. v upon g a it o a, spring force to 1,196,87l-"and 1,196,875, granted September move them into locking position, and conse- 5, 1915 to Albert J. Loepsinger, and in his quently there is alwaysthe possibility that present pending application Serial No. they may not work, because of corrosion'or 67,527. But the lnvention may be applied sticking, or a broken s'pring. g I to mechanical dry pipe valves and indeed. The present invention provides a latch so to any-valve having a memberwhose openorganized and arranged thatv the'valve in ing movement can be utilized to actuate'a 45 opening moves the latch initially-in one d'ilatch. It isfintended thatfthe patent shall rection to overcome any sticking and then cover by, suitable expression the appended moves it in the reverse direction into lockclaims whatever features of patentablenoving engagement with the valve. The initial eltyexist in the invention disclosed. application of force onthe latch is graduthe accompanyingdrawings; f

Figure 1 is an elevation in section of a differential dry pipe valve embodying the invention, the air clapper being illustrated in closed position by full lines and in the act of opening by dotted lines; and

Figure 2 is a similar view wherein the dotted lines represent the relative position of the clapper and latch as the former positively moves the latter to locking engagement, and the full lines represent the clapper latched open.

Referring to the drawings the differential dry pipe valve 10 has its inlet 12 at the bottom and its outlet 14 at the top of the easing. The valve proper embodies the water tclapper 16 and the air clapper 18, the former fbeinsgheldclosed against thesupply pressure pressure of the air confined in the distribution pipes of the systen.i and exerted on the air clapper in accordance with the principles set forth in the aforementioned patents and pending application.

A latch 20 in the l or n off a bell-crank lever is pivoted at 22 on a mounting 23 carried by the cover 2 1 off a hand-hole opening of the casing. One arm 20 of the lever eX- tends horizontally toward the fl-ll clap; er and has an undercut hook 20 at its end. Its other arm 29" depends vertically and has a curved endwhich may rest against the cover 24.- and when so engaged will position thelever with the rounded face not its hooked end in the path of a cam heel: 18 provided on the adjacent side of the air clapper.

In operation, when a sprinkler head opens and the air pressure on clapper 18 drops to a point where the water supply pressure slightly exceeds the air pressure the valve will open and the inguishing medium will rush into the distribution pipes. In opening the air clapper swings about pivo H l the cover 24:, its (321111 hook 18 moving under and against the rounded arm 205019 the latch lever and gradually applying a force tending to swing the latch clockwise abinzt pivot 2 a. idicated in dotted lines in Fi ure 1 A shortarm 22 is also provided on the latch on its upper side to engage the cover, it necessary and prevent undue swinging in the clockwise direction. After the cam hook l8 of the clap per has passed the rounded. line of the latch hook gravity may cause the latter swing downward and er the clapper hook. The movement of clapper might be so rapid however, that before the latch could fall the clapper would have struck the stop 28 on the cover and rebounded with its (ra n hook beyond reach of the latchhook. Moreover, experience h as taught that the priming water provided above the t, clapper while he valve is set a i aetion, m y have effected corrosion of thefatch pivot so that there is gel i. may stick stay up even after being'swung up by the cam heck of the opening clapper. The present invention insures that the latch hook shall positively engage the clapper hook during the initial swing of the clapper. This is accomplished by arranging the two arms of the bell crank latch lever so that as the hook arm 20 is swung upward to allow the clapper hook.

18* to pass under and beyond the hook 20", the depending arm 20 will be swung toward the clapper in position to he struck by cam hook 18 as the clapper continues its opening swing (indicated by dotted outlinein Figure In consequence, the movement of the latch lever is instantly reversed and its hook end '20 is positively swung downward behind the hook 18" of the clapper ready to be engaged by the valve hook it the latter rebounds toward its seat. Accordingly the valve is locked/open as shown in full lines in Figure 2. A resurgo oit water downward cannot close the clapper because of the hooked engagement; and any upward surge causing the clapper to swing further toward the cover also moves it toward the arm '20 01 the latch (which at the same time may be also swung toward the clapper? and thus insures that the heel: end of the lever will 'be kept in hook-engaging position with respect to the clapper. Thus the invention provides for the positive latching open of the valve on its in' ial openin swing and provides for the maintenance or the latched engagement during any subsequent movement of the valve caused by the action of the flowing wa er.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a valve having a swinging clapper, of a latch for holding the clapper open,t'he latch being mounted and ad ted to he lositively moved to latchposition by the clapper itself when open ing.

The combin having a swing clapper .oi a pivoted latch having a surface arranged to be engz aged with the clapper on the opening movement" of the clapper for swinging the latch in one direction and having an arm arranged to be ei' 'aged subsec uently bythe clapper and by its movement with the con tinued opening n'rovenient of the clapper to swing the latch in the rover direction into latching position, with respect EU the el l l r.

The combination with a valve havii'ig a swinring cla per of a latch for holding the clapper open after its initial opening, said latch compri' 1g a pivoted bell-crank lever having a hoe on one arm adapti-al to ride on the clapper the latter swings open and to latch it open and having another arm arranged to be engaged by saidclapper to tion with a dry pipe valve liiii swing said hook into said latching position Q the clapper, of a latch "for holding the clapthe said cam portion When the clapper" swings open, and having its other arm in )osition to be en zwed and rocked b T the 'clapper during its swinging-open motion,

thus positively moving said hook in front of said cam portion of the clapper to effect 1 locking engagement therewith.

Signed at Providence, Rhode Island, this 26th day of March, 1927; V

HERBERT E. ROSE. 

